Getting ready

It is 5pm on Monday July 7, 1997. The occasion is the formation of the One Nation Party Dandenong branch. Judging from recent events, trouble is expected and it is not without apprehension that I pick up my media pass. To maximise security, the entrance to the meeting is from a very small street and solidly protected by water-filled barricades.

There are already police road-blocks in place and the fire department is also present. Near the venue for the One Nation meeting, people are preparing for a concert in support of multiculturalism. I carry with me three cameras, a tape-recorder, a microphone and a thick skin.

Judging from recent events, trouble is to be expected. It is a sad state of affair when in 1997 in Australia, a lawful political party cannot meet without being subjected to criminal behaviour. In our so-called tolerant society, some still have much to learn about free speech and democracy.